Clare Akamanzi

Clare Akamanzi is a Rwandan lawyer, public administrator, businesswoman, and politician who served as the executive director and chief executive officer of the Rwanda Development Board from February 2017 to September 2023. The position is a cabinet-level appointment made by the President of Rwanda. She has since been appointed as the chief executive officer of NBA Africa, following the resignation of former CEO Victor Williams.

Background and education Akamanzi was born in Uganda to Rwandan refugee parents in 1979. She is the fourth-born in a family of six siblings. She attained pre-university education in various parts of Uganda. The family moved a lot, because her parents were refugees in Uganda.

Her Master of Laws in trade and investment law was obtained from the University of Pretoria, in South Africa. She also holds a Masters in Public Administration, obtained from Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States.

Career She began her career in 2004 in Geneva, Switzerland at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters. The government of Rwanda appointed her as a diplomat/special trade negotiator at the WTO. Later, she transferred to the Rwandan embassy in London, the United Kingdom as the commercial diplomat (commercial attaché). She later transitioned to being the chief operating officer of the Rwanda Development Board.

On 27 December 2023, it was announced that Akamanzi will hold the position of the CEO of NBA Africa starting from 23 January 2024.

Other activities Africa Europe Foundation (AEF), Member of the High-Level Group of Personalities on Africa-Europe Relations (since 2020)

Publications In the Trenches: Open for Business Rwanda's Push For Five-Star Development: An Interview With The Ceo Of The Rwanda Development Board On The Present And Future Of Rwandan Economic DevelopmentT Development At Crossroads: The Economic Partnership Agreement Negotiations With Eastern And Southern African Countries On Trade In Services